Dear Praying Friends and Family,
The months of May and June began with anxious anticipation. We were glad to hear that Pastor Alexei had successfully submitted all the documents needed for our letter of invitation to the office of religious affairs. Then we had to wait for the letter to be prepared, which, in the past, took about a month. The timing of its preparation coincided with the expiration of Pastor Alexei’s exemption from military service. If he travelled to Odessa to pick up our letter and was stopped at one of the several military checkpoints he would risk being conscripted on the spot. This means that he could be taken from his vehicle and loaded into a van to prepare for deployment. It was important to wait for his exemption to be renewed before he travelled to Odessa to pick up our letter.
We waited and prayed for his exemption from military service. There was a real chance that he would be conscripted into military service which would have totally changed our ability to return to Ukraine under an official religious visa. The Lord continues to reveal His will and timing in that this small detail could have changed things for us quite a lot. Sometime during the end of May were received the news that the Lord had answered our prayers, and yours! Pastor Alexei’s exemption was granted for another three months and our letter from the Governor of Odessa was ready to be picked up! We then prayed for its safe delivery to us in the USA. We received it during the first week of June and began the process of applying for our visas. As was the case many times in the past, the letter of invitation included the specification that we were to apply at the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago.
The process for submitting an application for a Religious Visa has changed somewhat and we hit a snag trying to get the embassy’s website to accept our applications. Due to the war, visas must now be submitted in person, to take the applicant’s biometrics (fingerprints and facial scan). For two weeks I tried calling, leaving messages, and writing e-mails with no replies. I finally decided to load up our family and make the trip to the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago. Unfortunately, the only thing to come of the long costly trip was the news that the Consulate in Chicago no longer fills visa applications and that they are only processed through the Embassy in Washington DC.
So, we returned home and started over. Praise the Lord, this time we were able to successfully submit our visa applications online and scheduled our in-person visit the first week of July for final approval and to allow them to take our biometrics. Please continue to pray with us for the Lord to keep the door open to take the word of God to the souls in Ukraine.
In addition to working on our visas, my calendar has stayed busy with meetings in Canada, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida. The Lord continues to bless with answered prayer, traveling mercies, and fruit. In several meetings the altar was full. God’s people are praying for souls in Ukraine.
Our postponed return allowed us the blessing of attending my son, Sam’s, graduation ceremony from Bible Institute at the Treasure Valley Baptist Church in Boise, ID. Please pray for him as he seeks the Lord’s will for his life.
Our postponed return also provided me an opportunity to finally visit the folks in Canada at the Montreal Bible Baptist Church. They have supported our ministry for over fifteen years, and I’ve never visited them once! I was very impressed with the church and ministry there and thoroughly enjoyed preaching on the street with them where I debated a Muslim for an hour.
Again, we would like to thank you all for your friendship, fellowship, prayers, and support of us in this work that God has given us. As I said in our previous letter, “Lord willing, by our next letter we will have tickets in hand and the date of our return to the field.” May the Lord Jesus bless you as you continue to serve Him.
That Ukraine May Know Him,
Christopher Rue
Phil. 3:10